The Ghosts of Belfast

Fegan has been a "hard man" - an IRA killer in Northern Ireland. Now that peace has come, he is being haunted day and night by 12 ghosts: a mother and infant, a schoolboy, a butcher, an RUC constable, and seven other of his innocent victims. In order to appease them, he's going to have to kill the men who gave him orders. As he's working his way down the list, he encounters a woman who may offer him redemption; she has borne a child to an RUC officer and is an outsider too.

Those We Left Behind: The Belfast Novels

Blood has always been thicker than water for two Northern Irish brothers caught in the Belfast foster system, but a debt of past violence will be paid not just by them but also by those they left behind. Ciaran Devine, who made Belfast headlines seven years ago as the "schoolboy killer", is about to walk free. At the age of 12, he confessed to the brutal murder of his foster father; his testimony mitigated the sentence of his older brother, Thomas, who was also found at the crime scene, covered in blood.

The Cold, Cold Ground

Adrian McKinty was born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. He studied politics and philosophy at Oxford before moving to America in the early 1990s. Living first in Harlem, he found employment as a construction worker, barman, and bookstore clerk. In 2000 he moved to Denver to become a high school English teacher and it was there that he began writing fiction.

Ratlines

Ireland 1963. As the Irish people prepare to welcome President John F. Kennedy to the land of his ancestors, a German national is murdered in a seaside guesthouse. Lieutenant Albert Ryan, Directorate of Intelligence, is ordered to investigate. The German is the third foreigner to die within a few days, and Minister for Justice Charles Haughey wants the killing to end lest, a shameful secret be exposed: the dead men were all Nazis granted asylum by the Irish government in the years following World War II.

Hidden River

Alexander Lawson is a former detective for Northern Ireland's police force. After a disastrous six-month stint in the drug squad, he became addicted to heroin and resigned in disgrace. Now 24, sickly, and on the dole, Alex learns that his high-school love, Victoria Patawasti, has been murdered in America. Victoria's wealthy family sends Alex to Colorado to investigate the case, and he seizes the opportunity for a chance at redemption.

Dead I Well May Be

Young Michael, an illegal immigrant escaping the troubles in Northern Ireland is strong and fearless and clever, just the fellow to be tapped by Darkey, a crime boss, to join a gang of Irish thugs struggling against the rising Dominican powers in Harlem and the Bronx. The time is pre-Giuliani New York, when crack rules the city, squatters live furtively in ruined buildings, and hundreds are murdered each month.

Fifty Grand: A Novel of Suspense

An illegal immigrant is killed in a hit-and-run on a frozen mountain road in the town of Fairview, Colorado. No one is prosecuted for his death and his case is quietly forgotten. Six months later another illegal makes a treacherous run across the border, barely escaping with her life. She finds work as a maid and, secretly, begins to investigate the death of her father. But she isn't a maid, and she's not Mexican.

Falling Glass

Richard Coulter is a man who has everything. His beautiful new wife is pregnant, his upstart airline is undercutting the competition and moving from strength to strength, his diversification into the casino business in Macau has been successful, and his fabulous Art Deco house on an Irish cliff top has just been featured in Architectural Digest. But then, for some reason, his ex-wife Rachel doesn’t keep her side of the custody agreement and vanishes off the face of the earth with Richard’s two daughters. Richard hires Killian, a formidable ex-enforcer for the IRA, to track her down before Rachel, a recovering drug addict, harms herself or the girls.

The House Sitter: Peter Diamond, Book 8

The corpse of a beautiful woman, clad in only a bathing suit, is found strangled to death on a popular Sussex beach. When she is finally identified, it turns out she was a top profiler for the National Crime Faculty who was working on the case of a serial killer. And though she was a Bath resident, the authorities don't want Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond to investigate the murder. How strange. What could they be trying to hide?

The Sun Is God

Colonial New Guinea, 1906: A small group of mostly German nudists lives an extreme back-to-nature existence on the remote island of Kabakon. Eating only coconuts and bananas, they purport to worship the sun. One of their members, Max Lutzow, has recently died, allegedly from malaria. But an autopsy on his body in the nearby capital of Herbertshöhe raises suspicions about foul play.

Dallas Noir

My favorite line in my favorite song about Dallas goes like this: Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes / A steel and concrete soul in a warm heart and love disguise... The narrator of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's perfect tune Dallas" is coming to town as a broke dreamer with the bright lights of the big city on his mind. He's just seen the Dallas cityscape through the window of his seat on a DC-9 at night. Is he just beginning his quest?

The Trespasser: A Novel

Being on the murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she's there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she's getting close to the breaking point. Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers' quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed to a shine, and dead in her catalogue-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner.

Runaway

Glasgow, 1965. Headstrong teenager Jack Mackay cannot allow for even the possibility of a life of predictability and routine. The 17-year-old has just one destination on his mind - London - and successfully convinces his four friends and fellow bandmates to join him in abandoning their homes to pursue a goal of musical stardom.

The Traitor's Story

When fifteen-year-old American Hailey Portman goes missing in Switzerland, her desperate parents seek the help of their neighbor, Finn Harrington, a seemingly quiet historian rumored to be a former spy. Sensing the story runs deeper than anyone yet knows, Finn reluctantly agrees to make some enquiries. He has little to go on other than his instincts, and his instincts have been wrong in the past - sometimes spectacularly wrong.

The Guards

Still stinging from his unceremonious ouster from the Garda Siochana, and staring at the world through the smoky bottom of his beer mug, Jack Taylor is stuck in Galway with nothing to look forward to. He is teetering on the brink of his life's sharpest edges, his memories of the past cutting deep into his soul and his prospects for the future non-existent.

The Hanging Club

A band of vigilante executioners roam London's hot summer nights, abducting evil men and hanging them. Sentenced to death is the gang member who abused vulnerable girls, the wealthy drunk driver who mowed down a child and the hate preacher calling for the murder of British troops. As the bodies pile up and riots explode all over the sweltering city, DC Max Wolfe embarks on his most dangerous investigation yet: hunting a gang of killers whom many believe to be heroes....

The Mermaids Singing

The bodies of four men have been discovered in the town of Bradfield. Enlisted to investigate is criminal psychologist Tony Hill. Even for a seasoned professional, the series of mutilation sex murders is unlike anything he's encountered before. But profiling the psychopath is not beyond him. Hill's own past has made him the perfect man to comprehend the killer's motives. It's also made him the perfect victim. A game has begun for the hunter and the hunted.

The Hope That Kills: A DI Fenchurch Novel, Book 1

The body of a young woman is found on the streets of East London, in the shadow of the City's gleaming towers. No ID on her, just hard-earned cash. But there is no doubting the ferocity of the attack. DI Simon Fenchurch takes charge but, as his team tries to identify her and piece together her murder, they're faced with cruel indifference at every turn - nobody cares about yet another dead prostitute.

Stalkers

Time's up. You're Next. "All he had to do was name the woman he wanted. It was that easy. They would do all the hard work. "Detective Sergeant Mark 'Heck' Heckenburg is investigating the disappearance of 38 different women. Each one was happy and successful until they vanished without a trace. Desperate to find her missing sister, Lauren Wraxford seeks out Heck's help.

Behind Dead Eyes

A corpse is found, its identity extinguished in the most shocking manner imaginable. Detective Ian Bradshaw can't catch the killer if no one can ID the victim. Out there, somewhere, a missing young woman may hold the answers. Journalist Helen Norton is about to uncover a massive criminal conspiracy. She just needs the final piece of the puzzle. Soon she will learn the price of the truth.

A Tapping at My Door

From the best-selling author of Cry Baby, the beginning of a brilliant and gripping police procedural series set in Liverpool, perfect for fans of Peter James and Mark Billingham. A woman at home in Liverpool is disturbed by a persistent tapping at her back door. She's disturbed to discover the culprit is a raven and tries to shoo it away. Which is when the killer strikes. DS Nathan Cody, still bearing the scars of an undercover mission that went horrifyingly wrong, is put on the case.

Close Your Eyes

A mother and her teenage daughter are found murdered in a remote coastal home, one defiled by multiple stab wounds and the other posed like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince. Joe O'Loughlin is drawn into the investigation when a former student, trading on Joe's reputation by calling himself "the Mindhunter", jeopardizes the police inquiry by leaking details to the media and stirring up public anger.

The Wrong Side of Goodbye: A Harry Bosch Novel, Book 21

Harry Bosch is California's newest private investigator. He doesn't advertise, he doesn't have an office, and he's picky about who he works for, but it doesn't matter. His chops from 30 years with the LAPD speak for themselves. Soon one of Southern California's biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire has less than six months to live and a lifetime of regrets. He hires Bosch to find out whether he has an heir.

Night Life

New York City, 1954. The Cold War is heating up, Senator Joe McCarthy is running a witch hunt for communists in America, the newly formed CIA is fighting a turf battle with the FBI to see who will be the primary United States intelligence agency, and the bodies of murdered young men are turning up all over the city.

Publisher's Summary

Galya Petrova travels to Ireland on a promise that she will work for a nice Russian family, teaching their children English. Instead, she is dragged into the world of modern slavery, sold to a Belfast brothel, and held there against her will.

She escapes at a terrible cost - the slaying of one of her captors - and takes refuge with a man who offers his help. As the traffickers she fled scour the city for her, seeking revenge for their fallen comrade, Galya faces an even greater danger: her savior is not what he seems. She is not the first trafficked girl to have crossed his threshold, and she must fight to avoid their fate.

Detective Inspector Jack Lennon wants a quiet Christmas with his daughter, but when an apparent turf war between rival gangs leaves bodies across the city, he knows he won't get it. As he digs deeper into the case, he realizes an escaped prostitute is the cause of the violence, and soon he is locked in a deadly race with two very different killers.

This book had me from the first page. I first heard Doyle read Adrian McKinty's trilogy and he does another fine job with Neville's words. The story is very intense and the main villain is totally creepy. I slept with the bathroom light on for a few nights. The ending is killer and there are seeds planted for book four. Lennon is getting to be a favorite series for me.

This book is just as strong as The Ghosts of Belfast and stronger than Collusion. Unfortunately it isn't a long read and ended before I was ready to say goodbye.

The story itself... it's well written, exciting and keeps your mind dancing!

What does Gerard Doyle bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

He is already one of my favorite readers/narrators and does nothing but reconfirm me as a fan. His Irish accent is perfect for these stories.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sure, if I could....

Any additional comments?

Like many other reviews, I also listened to The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville and enjoyed this one as much if not more. I will look for the third book in the series as well. I also recommend Adrian McKinty who is a great writer who writes in the same genre. Highly recommended all the way around!

Stuart Neville solidified a place in my book loving heart with Ghosts of Belfast & it was a lock with Collusion. There was a point during listening to Stolen Souls where I wasn't happy with the large swing in themes (away from The Troubles, thematically) until I realized that although the overwhelming conflict had come to a close, the characters were still there, & very well developed at that. Times change. Wars, civil or otherwise, run down. Corruption is a different animal. Excellent book, and Gerard Doyle is a stellar performer...amongst the best I've listened to, certainly. Kudos.

Stuart Neville is a very good writer, Gerald Doyle is one of the best narrators, always a bit dark, but moves fast, Stolen Souls moves along at a brisk pace at only 8 hours or so and was hard to stop listening to, always an important aspect when positively reviewing a book.

I like Jack Reacher style characters regardless of setting. Put them in outer space, in modern America, in a military setting, on an alien planet... no worries. Book has non moralistic vigilante-justice? Sign me up!
(oh, I read urban fantasy, soft and hard sci-fi, trashy vampire and zombie novels too)

I liked it better than the first Jack Lennon book - this is partly because by reading the earlier book I was more familiar with Jack and could relate to his tribulations a bit better, and it was partly because this story is more realistic. (And, it was partly because I had actually read Collusion because I thought it was about Gerry Fagan and was disappointed that it was not; in Stolen Souls I knew it was about Jack from the outset.)

Okay... maybe this story isn't really more realistic, it is just that there is no character with 'super human' abilities in this one. The bad guys are a bit far-fetched, but the basic premise is believable. It seems as though the author wanted us to like Jack more and tried to make him seem more human here (i.e. he contemplates the moral repercussions of his prostitute visits)... but I think Neville should just stick to writing engaging violent thrillers and give up trying to write 'sappy'. We like these novels because they are dark and to the point, not because we want to know if the main character has an emotional epiphany.

Like the earlier novels, it is set in Ireland, but this time there is no reference to the political turmoil that country has undergone. I think this improves the thriller component of the novel since we North Americans don't have to figure out if the tension is based on religion or politics that are foreign.

It is violent, but not gory, and the underlying theme is dark and unpleasant. There is no sex, and there is some foul language, but it was not excessive. I will read more by this author, and more books about Jack Lennon. The narration is excellent, though it is read with a pretty thick Irish accent throughout which might take some getting used to.

I had the first book in this series and wasn't terribly impressed. While the characterization was excellent, and continued to be in this second title, I felt the constant focus on the assassin's brutality unnecessary.

In this second go-round, however, the violence, while present, isn't the overwhelming element it was before. Here, the emphasis is on the characters, as it should be, and the pacing is much better for it. Overall, this was a much more engaging story, in my opinion, and makes it more likely I'll be acquiring more of Mr. Neville's work.

Stuart Neville continues to entertain with his third Belfast opus. If you haven't listened to Ghosts Of Belfast or Collusion, check them out as they're also read by the superlative Gerard Doyle. Best series of crime fiction going. Don't miss it.

This started out slowly for me. I like Jack and there was always the overhanging issue of his daughter and whether he would keep his promises to her. This kept me on the edge of my seat more so than the investigation and the stories involved in that.

The synopsis is available elsewhere. I enjoy the author's style and the settings play a big part in this series. The narration is excellent and that helped get me through the slow parts at the beginning.

The end is a bit of a cliffhanger but I think I need something lighter after reading these three books in a row. I'll come back to book 4 shortly.